Bobbin chute for looms



Sept. 6, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I m N z m 3! 5 3 OscARHfloLuFlELu O O andJAMES E. DRURY,

8 Q0 INVENTORS BY gulf-ow,

ATTORNEYS 5615i. 1960 o. H. HOLLIFIELD ETAL 2,951,511

BOBBIN CHUTE FOR LOOMS Filed Feb. 27, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT ORSOSCAR H. 'HOLUHE-LD andJAM s E. DRURY BY 5QL fieflLW+ ATTORNEYS P 1960o. H. HOLLIFIELD ETAL 2,951,511

BOBBIN CHUTE FOR LOOMS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 27, 1959 INVENTORSIIHhII W OSCAR. H. HoLuHELD and JAMES E. DRUEY BY nil-,-%e9&, Ad

ATTORNEY-5 United States Patent Q BOBBIN CHUTE FOR LOOMS Oscar H.Hollifield, P.O. Box 112, and James E. Drury,

P.0. Box 72, both of Faith, N.C., assignors of seventyfive percent tosaid Oscar H. Hollifield, and twenty-five percent to said James E. DruryFiled Feb. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 795,970

3 Claims. (Cl. 139-255) This invention relates to improvements in bobbinchutes for weft replenishing looms of the type provided with a transfermechanism adapted to expel a depleted bobbin from the shuttle and intothe chute to guide the expelled bobbin into a bobbin receiver or can.

Bobbin chutes of the prior art may be grouped into two general classes;i.e., the type which is carried by the reciprocating lay and supportedin fixed position beneath the shuttle box and the type which issupported on a stationary portion of the loom and is located in bobbinreceiving position only when the lay is moved to its forward or bobbinexpelling position. When the bobbin chute is carried by the lay, it maylimit or otherwise interfere with the stroke of the picker stick whenthe same is actuated to send the shuttle across the lay. When the bobbinchute is carried by the frame of the loom, it will not interfere withoperation of the picker stick since the same is actuated when the lay isin its rearmost position, away from the stationary bobbin chute.However, if the picker stick is not properly positioned when the laymoves forwardly during a beat-up stroke, the picker stick will engageand damage of fixed bobbin chute or at least displace the chute so thatit is no longer positioned properly to receive expelled bobbins from theshuttle box.

With the foregoing in mind, it is the primary object of this inventionto provide an improved bobbin chute comprising a bobbin guiding portionwhich is normally carried in a fixed position on the frame of the loomand a yieldable bobbin receiving portion extending from one end of thefixed guiding portion to initially receive the bobbins expelled from theshuttle whereby the yieldable bobbin receiving portion will preventdamage to the chute when contacted by any malfunctioning part of theloom as the lay moves to beat-up position.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a bobbin chutehaving a bobbin guiding portion which is adjustably supported in a fixedposition relative to the loom frame and a bobbin receiving portionhingedly secured thereto, the bobbin receiving portion being resilientlyheld in a position to normally extend beneath the shuttle box of the laywhen it is in its forward or beatup position so that the bobbinreceiving portion will receive the bobbins expelled from the shuttleduring normal operation of the loom.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a two-partbobbin chute comprising a bobbin guiding portion fixed on the loom andpositioned to guide bobbins downwardly and outwardly from the shuttlebox and a yieldable bobbin receiving portion or mouth forming anextension of the bobbin guiding portion, the bobbin receiving andguiding portions being disposed at an acute angle so that only thebobbin receiving portion is positioned beneath the shuttle box when thelay is in a forward or beat-up position.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds,

2,951,51 l Patented Sept. 6, 1960 when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevation ofthe right-hand side of the loom and showing the improved bobbin chute inthe position normally employed when the lay is in its forward or beat-upposition;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of the bobbinmagazine, the lay and the bobbin chute shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 except showing the bobbinreceiving portion of the bobbin chute yielding, as when contacted by amalfunctioning picker stick during forward reciprocation of the lay;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 except showing the bobbinreceiving portion of the bobbin chute yielding, as when it is engaged bya bobbin accidentally discharged from the bobbin magazine during forwardreciprocation of the lay;

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the improved bobbin chute removed fromthe loom and looking in the direction of the arrow 5 in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of the bobbin chute shown in Figure 5 withthe yieldable mouth being shown in open or bobbin receiving posit-ion insolid lines and in partially closed position in dash-dot lines; and

Figure 7 is a rear elevation of the bobbin chute, looking at theopposite side of the chute from that shown in Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings, the improved bobbin chute is shown associatedwith a weft replenishing loom of the multicolor type having a bobbinmagazine, broadly referred to at 10. The magazine 10 has a series ofvertical compartments 11, 12, 13 and 14 in which vertical stacks ofbobbins B are located.

The lower ends of the compartments 11 through 14 are provided withcorresponding bobbin releasing cradles indicated at 16 through 19. Thecradles 16 through 19 are oscillated in a predetermined order, torelease a bobbin from any one of the compartments 11 through 14 prior tothe exhaustion of the weft yarn on a bobbin carried by the shuttle. Abobbin released from one of the compartments will roll downwardly oninclined tracks 20 and 21 where it will be resiliently held immediatelyabove the shuttle when the lay is in its extreme forward orbeat-upposition, as shown in Figures 1 through 4.

The magazine 10 is supported on a bracket 22 fixed on the forward upperportion of the loom frame 23 and the bracket 22 supports one end of ashaft 25 on which a transfer arm 26 is oscillatably mounted. Thetransfer arm 26 is provided with a downwardly extending arm 30 having adog 31 pivotally connected thereto in a conventional manner. The loom isprovided with the usual filling detecting mechanism, not shown, which isadapted to raise the dog 31 to substantially a horizontal position whereit will be engaged by a hunter 32 carried by the front portion of thelay 33 (Figure 2). When the hunter 32 contacts the dog 31, forwardmotion of the lay 33 will actuate the transfer arm 26 to force a filledbobbin into the shuttle S and force the exhausted bobbin downwardly, outof the shuttle and into a opening in the lower surface of the shuttlebox.

The lay 33 is mounted in a conventional manner on the upper ends of apair of swords 34, only one of which is shown in the drawings. The lowerends of the swords 34 are pivotally connected to the frame of the loomand their upper ends are reciprocated forwardly and rearwardly by meansof connecting arms 35 pivotally con nected thereto at their front endsas at 36 and their rear ends being connected to the conventional crankshaft, not shown, of the loom. Each end of the lay 33 has the upper endof a picker stick 37 mounted for movement therein and the picker stickis operated in the usual manner to throw the shuttle S from one side ofthe lay to the other.

Itis with the type of loom thus far described that the present inventionis shown associated although it is to be understood that the improvedbobbin chute may be easily applied to a replenishing loom of the typeemploying a circular bobbin battery for single color weaving if desired.

The improved bobbin chute comprises a fixed bobbin guiding portionindicated broadly at 40 and a yieldable mouth or bobbin receivingportion indicated broadly at 41, the bobbin receiving portion beingsupported on the fixed bobbin guiding portion 40. The fixed bobbinguiding portion 40 is adjustably supported on the loom by an arm 45, theupper end of which is adjustably secured in a support collar 46 (Figurel) fixed on the shaft 25 and the lower end of the arm 45 is adjustablysecured in a bracket 50 as by set screws 51. The bracket 50 is providedwith outwardly extending cars 52 (Figures and 6) which are suitablysecured to a front wall 54 of the fixed guiding chute 40 in any suitablemanner such as by screws 53.

In addition to the front wall 54, the fixed bobbin guiding portion 40includes a rear wall 55 and interconnected end walls 56 and 57. It willbe noted that the front and rear walls 54 and 55 are inclined from thevertical in a direction rearwardly of the loom and toward the lay 33while the end walls 56 and 57 are inclined from the vertical in adirection inwardly toward the side frame 23 of the loom. Thus, anybobbin received in the yieldable mouth 41, in a manner to be laterdescribed, will be led downwardly and forwardly from the lay 33 and awayfrom the side frame 23. As the bobbins pass through the fixed bobbinguiding portion 40, they are directed into a bobbin receiving containeror can 60 positioned adjacent the lower end of the fixed bobbin guidingportion 40.

The yieldable mouth or bobbin receiving portion 41 includes a wall 61which is hingedly connected to the upper edge of the rear wall 55 of thefixed bobbin guiding portion 40 by hinges 62 and 63 and the portion 41also includes a pair of triangularly shaped end walls 64 and 65. Thewall 61 of the yieldable mouth 41 is normally positioned in alinementwith and forms an extension to the wall 55 of the fixed portion 40.Referring to Figure 5, the end walls 64, 65 extend at the same angle asthe end walls 56, 57 but are offset so that when the mouth 41 is movedto partially closed position (Figures 3 and 4), the wall 65 will passinside of the portion 45 while the end wall 64 will pass outside of thewall 56 (Figure 6), so that the end walls 64, 65 will move injuxtaposition to the end walls 56, 57 of the fixed bobbin guidingportion 40.

It will be noted in Figures 1 and 2 that when the lay 33 is in beat-upposition the upper edge of the wall 61 of the mouth 41 is normallypositioned closely adjacent, without engaging, the cut away frontsurface of the lay 53 and the wall 61 is inclined at an acute angle ofpreferably forty-five degrees. Due to the angular disposition of theportions 40 and 41, the wall 61 is positioned closely beneath theshuttle S and thus when a bobbin is expelled from the shuttle, it willfall only a short distance before engaging the wall 61. Since the bobbinfalls only a short distance, there is little danger that the bobbin willnot remain in a horizontal position, thus reducing the possibility ofdamage to the expelled bobbin. The mouth portion 41 is resiliently heldin the position shown in Figures 1 and 2 by a tension spring 70, one endof which is suitably connected to a spring perch plate 71 fixed on andextending beyond the end of the front wall 54 of the fixed portion 46.The other end of the spring 76 is suitably connected to the free end ofan L-shaped spring perch plate 72 (Figure 7). The L-shaped spring perchplate 72 is suitably secured to the wall 61 of the yieldable mouth 41 asby screws 73 and extends across and in engagement with a portion of therear wall 55 of the fixed portion 40.

The tension spring 70 resiliently holds the free end of the L-shapedspring perch plate 72 against the rear wall 55 so that the walls 61 and55 are held in alinement (Figure 2). When any external force is appliedto the Wall 61 of the yieldable mouth 41, the spring 7!} will bestretched and allow the mouth 41 to move to partially closed position,as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Since the wall 61 is positioned at an anglerelative to the front of the lay, any object brought forward withmovement of the lay 33 will not be caught between the lay and the wall61 unless it is engaged by the top edge of the wall 61.

There are several conditions that may cause the yield able portion 41 tobe engaged by other parts of the loom, the more common of which areshown in Figures 3 and 4. The condition illustrated in Figure 3 is whenthe picker stick return spring has been broken so that the picker stickdoes not properly return to its normal position upon expelling theshuttle from the shuttle box, when the lay 33 is in its rearmostposition. Thus, when the lay 33 is moved forwardly, the picker stick 37is positioned in the shuttle box so that its shank will engage theleading or rearmost upper edge of the wall 61 and cause the yieldablemouth 41 to yield against the spring 70 to substantially the positionshown in Figure 3. In a condition such as this, if the improved bobbinguide chute were not provided with a yieldable mouth, the picker stick37 would be damaged, the chute would be bent or moved out of normalposition so that it would not subsequently receive bobbins discharged bythe transfer mechanism.

In Figure 4 the yieldable mouth 41 is shown being depressed by a bobbinengaging the wall 61 in what is commonly known in the art as a conditioncalled falling bobbins. The falling bobbin condition is caused by amalfunction of the bobbin magazine 10 so that the bobbins are releasedfrom the lower end thereof prior to the lay 33 reaching its forwardmostposition. As a bobbin falls it may be in position to engage the wall 61when the lay 33 moves to beat-up position. With the yieldable mouth 41,the present improved bobbin chute will not be damaged as would be thecase if the chute were made in one solid piece without the yieldablemouth 41.

The fixed portion 46 has a wide range of adjustment both horizontallyand vertically, making possible the use of the present improved bobbinchute on many different types of looms, Also, due to the position of thechute, the bobbins are led downwardly and outwardly away from the lay 33as soon as they are expelled from the shuttle S so that they are guidedfrom the time they leave the shuttle, until they are deposited in thebobbin receiving can 66. Of course, the front end of the portion 46 canbe extended so that the bobbin receiving can 66 may be positionedfurther from the lay, if desired.

Thus, the improved bobbin chute herein disclosed is provided with afixed guiding portion which is adjustably supported on the loom frameand a yieldable bobbin receiving month which will yield when contactedby a malfunctioning portion of the loom or by any foreign objects. Theyieldable mouth of the bobbin chute thus prevents damage to themalfunctioning part of the loom or to the bobbin chute itself and uponcorrection of malfunctioning part or removal of the obstruction, theyieldable mouth will return to its normal operative position to receivebobbins without the necessity of any adjustment.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in theclaims.

We claim: 7

1. An improved bobbin chute for weft replenishing looms having areciprocating lay, a shuttle box at each end of said lay, a shuttlemovable along said lay and between said shuttle boxes, a yarn supplybobbin carried by said shuttle, transfer means for expelling an emptybobbin from said shuttle and into said chute while positloning a filledbobbin in said shuttle, and a bobbin receiving can positioned to receivebobbins discharged from said bobbin chute, said bobbin chute comprisinga bobbin guiding portion positioned to deposit bobbins in said bobbinreceiving can, and a yieldable mouth portion extending from said bobbinguiding portion and positioned to receive bobbins expelled from saidshuttle, said bobbin guiding portion comprising interconnected front,rear and end walls defining a passageway for directing expelled bobbinsdownwardly and outwardly from said shuttle and into said bobbinreceiving can, support means connecting said front wall and said loom tosupport said bobbin guiding portion in a fixed position on said loom,said yieldable mouth portion comprising a rear wall and con nected endwalls, the rear and end walls of said yieldable mouth portion beingnormally positioned in alinement with the rear and end walls of saidbobbin guiding portion, means hingedly connecting said rear wallstogether, and resilient means normally holding said rear walls inalinement.

2. An improved bobbin chute for weft replenishing looms having areciprocating lay, a shuttle box at each end of said lay, a shuttlemovable along said lay and between said shuttle boxes, a yarn supplybobbin carried by said shuttle, transfer means for expelling an emptybobbin from said shuttle and into said chute while positioning a filledbobbin in said shuttle, and a bobbin receiving can positioned to receivebobbins discharged from said bobbin chute, said bobbin chute comprisinga bobbin guiding portion positioned to deposit bobbins in said bobbinreceiving can, and a yieldable mouth portion extending from said bobbinguiding portion and positioned to receive bobbins expelled from saidshuttle, said bobbin guiding portion comprising interconnected front,rear and end walls defining a passageway for directing expelled bobbinsdownwardly and outwardly from said shuttle and into said bobbinreceiving can, support means connecting said front wall and said loom tosupport said bobbin guiding portion in a fixed position on said loom,said yieldable mouth portion being substantially U-shaped and comprisinga rear wall and interconnected end walls, the rear wall of saidyieldable mouth portion normally being positioned in alinement with therear wall of said bobbin guiding portion, means pivotally connectingsaid rear walls together, resilient means normally maintaining said rearwalls in alinement, and said end walls of said yieldable mouth portionbeing so arranged relative to the end walls of said bobbin guidingportion whereby upon said yieldable mouth portion pivoting the end wallsthereof will move in juxtaposition to the end walls of said bobbinguiding portion.

3. An improved bobbin chute for weft replenishing looms having areciprocating lay, a shuttle box at each end of said lay, a shuttlemovable along said lay and between said shuttle boxes, a yarn supplybobbin carried by said shuttle, transfer means for expelling an emptybobbin from said shuttle and into said chute while positioning a filledbobbin in said shuttle, and a bobbin receiving can positioned to receivebobbins discharged from said bobbin chute, said bobbin chute comprisinga bobbin guiding portion positioned to deposit bobbins in said bobbinreceiving can, and a yieldable mouth portion extending from said bobbinguiding portion and positioned to receive bobbins expelled from saidshuttle, said bobbin guiding portion comprising interconnected front,rear and end walls defining a passageway for directing expelled bobbinsdownwardly and outwardly from said shuttle and into said bobbinreceiving can, support means connecting said bobbin guiding portion andsaid loom to support said bobbin guiding portion in a fixed position onsaid loom, said yieldable mouth portion comprising a rear wall andconnected end walls, the rear and end walls of said yieldable mouthportion being normally positioned in alinement with the rear and endwalls of said bobbin guiding portion, means hingedly connecting saidrear walls together, and resilient means normally holding said rearwalls in alinement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,372,106 Tempest Mar. 22, 1921 1,466,847 Northrop Sept. 4, 19231,511,183 Davis Oct. 7, 1924

